Sephora is finally here @ Robinson , The Garden, Midvalley

Sephora is giving out Rm100 cash voucher to the 1st 50 Robinson member and Rm50 cash voucher for subsequent 100 fans !!! Isn't it great ??

Luckily I am not working on that day , I reached Midvalley at about 915 am and I am No.21 in line !!! Rm100 cash voucher !! Woohoo !!!

This is what I get for myself !!!Urban Decay Nakey Flushed Strip !!

It's RRP for Rm109 , because of the voucher , I only pay Rm 9 for it !! 

On a side note , they have an hourly Q&A giveaway session untill 1.30pm . Guess what happen .... *drumroll* ... I finally won one at the last round !!!

I think the reason behind me getting chosen might be due to the fact I have stand there for 3 rounds . Nadia Heng must be pity of me so she chose me ? Or maybe it's because I am the fastest to raise up my hand ?

Anyway , I am not as lucky as Jo ann who got a make up stash . I only got a Sephora Blueberry Lotion , a bath thingy and 2 shower capsule ! But i am still very happy and grateful ! something is better nothing right ?! Haha

Till next time XOXO

Laneige 20 anniversary @ Westin Hotel

Last Saturday , Laneige organise an event at Westin to celebrate its 20th birthday !!

The star of the event would be the Water Sleeping Pack EX and the Firming Sleeping pack which is going for Rm 60 . Their normal retail price would be Rm 100 and Rm 110 respectively . Other products such as the whitening essence is going for Rm150. 

The other products would be the limited edition sets for example the Limited Edition Laneige Water Bank Gel Cream Ex and the Laneige Waterbank essence and moisturizer set.

I bought the limited edition water bank gel cream for Rm130 . It is just like their usual water bank gel cream but scented with 7 different scents.

The door gift that I got consist of a sequin tote bag ,Laneige oil free cleansing liquid ,  a Laneige toiletries set and a Water bank Kit.

Moreover, since I spent above Rm 380, I got a 8 piece gift set and a blue polka dot umbrella too!!

Sephora Merdeka Sale !!!

Great news girls !!! Sephora is having sale until 3rd of September 2014!!!

There are 3 types of offers . Firstly is the 2 item for only Rm57 . These are sephora  pink series brushes and selected ciate nail colour. 

Secondly is the 57% off offer. These are the Too Faced Kabuki brush , Too Faced makeup palette with iphone 5 case, Too Faced single colour eye shadow and lip colour . Besides Too Faced , there are also selected Soap and Glory product . For example , Soap and glory Puffy Eye Attack , Soap and Glory the Ultimelt , Soap and Glory BB cream and 

Soap and Glory Sit Tight . 

There are also Pure Heals Mask and Bare minerals eyeshadow as well.

Lastly , selected perfume are Rm57 off . This consist of Kenzo, Calvin Klein and Juicy couture perfume .

Happy Shopping !!!

Does a moisturizer enhance your skin or worsen your skin?

I have done a small experiment based on an article that I have read a few months ago .

It teaches us how to differentiate the ingredients used in the skincare products that are common in our facial routine.

One of it is on how to differentiate whether the moisturizer  we use actually helping us to hydrate our skin or just contain petrolatum / mineral oil that will clog our pores.

The method of testing is firstly , get a paper and dab a small amount of the moisturizer on the paper and for it to dry. Next, check and see whether the part where the moisturizer is dabbed is wrinkly or slightly translucent.

If it is slightly translucent , that means it contain petrolatum/ mineral oil. 

On the other hand if it just turn wrinkly , that means the product helps to hydrate the skin without the use of petrolatum

I did this experiment based on a few moisturisers that I have been using . These are :

 

BIOTHERM AQUASOURCE (normal to combination skin )

FRESHEL (BY KANEBO ) WHITENING UV GEL

ZA TOTAL HUDRATION AMINO REFRESHING GEL

NARUKO ( by Niu Er)Magnolia Brightening and Firming Night Gelly EX 

NARUKO白玉兰雪耳钻采紧致晚安冻膜

SKINCOLOGY (by Niu Er)ADVANCED HYDRATING CREME EX2 玻尿酸全效循環保濕水凝霜

And it turns out that  

1.biotherm contain quite a high amount  of petrolatum

2.freshel contains the most ( I am not sure whether it is due to the UV protection function of it )

3.Za has a minimal amount

4.Naruko negative traces of petrolatum 

5.skincology  negative 

KEeeeraizy... FISH ( crazy fish @ Solaris Mont Kiara review )

Everyone kinda went, eeeeeeewwwww........ When I told them I recently found a place that does live octopus. For people who've known me for a while I've been dying to try it out so I was beyond excited when I found out.

I was so excited when I found the place in Solaris Dutamas. It is a single shop lot in the middle of a lane filled with many many cars. Expect to double park unless you are willing to walk all the way from a different building. 

So, on to presentation, it was a simple dish with just a few leaves of lettuce for garnishing. I personally was expecting the live octopus to be trying to crawl out of the plate but I was kind of let down. We had to squirt some soy sauce on it for it to start moving but, it was to be honest very exciting. The dish itself was quite simple. Just soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Simple but as it was still alive, it was good and fresh... Hahahaha how much more fresh can it get.

Taste wise, the octopus was quite salty. Not chemically, salty but it tasted like the ocean. Furthermore, I might have over did it with the soy sauce, trying to make it move. Texture wise, it was no different than eating squid sashimi. So in the end it was a once in a lifetime experience, but taste wise it was nothing out of the ordinary. That being said it was still good. So I. The end I give it an 8/10 for taste and that is great.

For the price point however, it was quite high. Rm70 for two small octopus is very expensive, but I guess it was a good gimmick so I guess it wasn't too bad. For this I give it a 5/10

In conclusion, it is worth trying out if you want to have a new culinary experience, but the taste definitely will not be anything out of this world

Crazy Fish

9-G, Jalan Solaris 3, Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur

Open daily for lunch & dinner, except the first Monday of each month. 

Tel: 03-6211-7313

Beauty essence/ serum review

Today I would like to write a review on my favourite essence / serum . 

Firstly , I would like to talk about NRK ALL IN ONE HIGH POTENCY BRIGHTHENING COMPLEX 一步搞定全效保湿亮白精华

I actually get this for free last year when Niu Er came to Sunway Pyramid for a sharing session.

I like the texture of the item , it's texture is similar to that of the hada labo toner . However ,it doesn't provide a one step solution for my skin. Even when I top it with my Biotherm Aquasource moisturizer or my Kanebo 5 in 1 Uv whitening gel, my skin still does not feel well hydrated

In my opinion, the Skinfood  Lettuce & Cucumber  Water Drop Essence leave my skin feel much more hydrated . It does not leave my skin feel tight and dry by merely applying the essence alone.

The Skinfood Lettuce & cucumber water drop essence is really a budget buy if you can get it directly from Korea . It cost me around  Rm30 when I got it last year. In Malaysia , the retail price is slightly higher , which is about Rm60 .

It is a gel like texture which turn watery when it's apply on the face . It is fresh and light , non sticky and smell good too . 

My other favourite essence would be the Laneige Waterbank Essence . It really hydrates the skin even when I use it alone ! I bought the Laneige Waterbank Essence and Laneige Waterbank gel cream from Jusco last Christmas for rm 250

Although Korean and Japanese skin care are my favourite , the Biotherm Source Therapie 7 is also pretty good. I first got my hands on it due to generous sample given by the Beauty advisor from House of Fraser London . It's a gel like texture which would Leave the skin powdery.

It also leave my skin hydrated without using any moisturizer 

Thought of the day

On my boyfriend's birthday , I come to realised that the saying of " everyday can be a special day ( valentines ) can really happen " 天天都是情人节” .

It is not something that is impossible , it could happen in rea life . It is not a myth like unicorns and fairies .

You can be happy wherever you are , whenever it is . Because you are with someone who you really appreciates, love and be loved .

The bad thing about this is that you don't feel special on a special day ie birthday or valentines or even anniversary .

This is the time where le boyfriend will say :" I am not going to treat you so nice anymore . Because if so there is nothing much  I can do on a special day . "

Levi's Keep Cool Cart Campaign @ One Utama

Yesterday , My bf and I bumped into the Keep Cool Cart Roadshow in One Utama . They are giving out free gifts with no pirchase required !!

Steps :

1. Take a photo of yourself with their Keep Cool window display at their store 

2. upload it on to your Facebook , Twitter or Instagram account and  hashtag   # keepcoolmy 

3. Show it to the person in charged at the Keep Cool Cart 

4.Proceed to the  Lucky dip

Although it is started that there are a lot of free gifts to be won , but yesterday there is only a brown letter wallet , a white tote bad and a black leather wallet to choose from.

We have  both gotten ourselves a brown leather wallet .

Moreover, there is also a photo booth for you take photos for free ! 

Number 76 style @ bangsar 2 review

As I have mentioned in the previous post , I have a total of Rm 40 voucher to be redeemable in 3 months.

This time I went to their Bangsar 2 branch which located at the same row with the post office .

I made an appointment with Amy for hair cut, usually I will not spent such money for hair cut . But since they have a 10% discount on hair cut and I have a rm40 voucher , why not give it a try.

I like the design of their boutique , it reminds me of a coffee shop. 

What I have realised through visiting Number 76 Style is that their directors are quite good but the assistants are bad . I don't know whether is a miscommunication or what , but I don't think their assistants are professional enough . The lack of supervision of the directors ( hair stylist ) makes the problem worst . This is because the directors are always busy, they might serving 2-3 customer at the same time .

Amy is a friendly person . I mentioned that the Ultrasonic hair treatment doesn't really work on my hair . Once she heard about it and looked at my hair condition, she thinks that there might be some problem during my treatment last time as the condition is not normal for a treatment after 1 week plus .

So she decided make an appointment for me to redo the Ultrasonic hair treatment for free 

On a side note , I realised that the very nice scent left on my hair after the treatment actually come from the Shisheido Luminogenic treatment which cost Rm 105  for a 250g tube. 

Update

I have redone my Ultrasonic hair treatment on the following week at their Mont kiara branch

This time they ask another assistant to do the treatment for me . The result is far better than that of the first time . 

However , since it can only last for a maximum of 3 weeks , I think it's quite costly to maintain . However , do note that you could redeem a free Ultrasonic treatment on your birthday month if you are a member if Number 76 style 

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison @ Isetan One Utama

So we were walking around 1 utama looking for something to eat. She was thinking of going to that ramen store in Isetan. I was not feeling like having ramen so I was trying to encourage her to have something else. hahahaha.

we walked around the back and this sign that said they were giving free refills of rice, miso soup, cabbage and barley tea. That seems to be too good to be true so we decided to walk in and have a look around.

The menu served fried everything, by that I mean that they had deep fried pork loin, pork fillets, jumbo prawns and one dish that served deep fried fish. I normally move away from deep fried anything but this restaurant seems interesting. They specialise in their pork chops. They advertise their specially aged meat and their very specific cooking method that results in a crispy but not oily result. I was intrigued so I ordered the extra large pork loin chop. My other half ordered the mixed fried which had deep fried pork loin, prawns and fish. (this is the only dish that had fish in it)

Before the main dish arrived, we were given an appetizer in the form of grated radish. This was to be eaten with a special sauce. Looking at it, we didn't really know what it was for but the waiter was kind enough to point out how we were to eat it. The sauce was an interesting mix of sweet and salty and the radish was refreshing to the palette.

When my dish came, it was a good looking. the gold skin on the pork loin seems crunchy but it was not dripping in oil. In fact, I found that the whole dish did not feel oily at all. It was just nice and crunchy. The meat was cooked just right that it was still very tender and juicy and it was seasoned very simply. The unlimited salad was just raw cabbage, but the fact that they took the time to slice it so thinly that it did not feel at all like I was a rabbit eating vegetables. With the sauce the salad was good. Then there is the miso soup. With most of the dish being good, I had high expectations for the soup but I was very disappointed. There is a weird saltiness to the soup that seems to rub me the wrong way and this I believe can be attributed to the type of miso that they use to make the soup. I feel there is a very 'processed' taste to the soup and I didn't like it.

Going back to the meat of the article, (get it?) they info graphic that was given to us showed that there was three ways to eat the fried pork. The first way was to eat it with salt. This was just plain and simple salt. if you like salt you will like eating it this way (hahaha so 'duh' right?). The second way was to eat it with a spicy sauce. This was just BBQ sauce with a different name. It didn't taste self made, so I could only assume that it was the store bought kind. The third way was to eat it with a sweet sauce. This tasted like the spicy sauce but minus the slightly spicy edge.

All this was to be served with rice. Unlimited glorious rice. hahahahah. There were two choices to the rice. Plain white rice, and multi grain rice. I looooove rice. I had the white rice while she ordered the multi grain rice. Although people encourage more consumption of multi grain everything.... white rice is my guilty pleasure. putting everything together resulted in a very warm sensation in my stomach. Like I was being cradled in the arms of my mother. the sourness of the sauce and crispyness of the pork worked well together. This coupled with the fresh crunch of the salad made it into a very balanced and comforting sensation in my mouth. I believe the best compliment I could give to this dish is that it is comfort food of the ultimate level.

Moving on to the other dish, there was deep fried prawn, fish and pork. The pork is the same as mine, so we shall move on to the prawn. This was not the tempura kind although it was still deep fried just like everything else they serve at the restaurant. It was fresh and bouncy like prawns should be. The fried fish was just as fresh and just as tasty and this was a wonderful surprise. I half expected the sea food to taste fishy and lacking, as most restaurants do not serve good tasting fried seafood. This was different in a very good way.

In conclusion, this was serendipity as i did not at all expect that it would be a good experience. Now i have a new place to go for comfort food and i believe that this is a good thing. If the miso soup tasted better, i would give this shop a higher rating but as is i give it a 8 out of a perfect 10

Sephora opening in Nu Sentral

Sephora had finally landed in Nu Sentral last Saturday !! I am quite happy actually since it is located  directly opposite my college .

Initially , I planned to drop by The Faceshop during lunch break as they were  having a one hour sale from 2pm-3pm. However plan fail !

This is because when I was wandering around the mall I saw that there are quite a number of people waiting outside sephora . I suspect that there are some special promotion that I am not aware about.

After some enquiry and research on their facebook page , I came to know that there are giving out a rm100 cash voucher to the first 50 fans and rm50 for the next 150 fans. So screw lunch and class, I am lining up! And the poor boyfriend was being dragged along.

we are no.11 and 12

After 2 hours of waiting, we have finally received our rm 100 cash voucher !

rm100 cash voucher only redeemable at that day itself

These are what I have gotten :

 

a. Pure Heal's Propolis Honey Moisturizig Collection @ rm145 consist of 2 masks, 1 Propolis Ampoule and 1 Propolis Moisturizing Cream

b. Butter London Matte Finish Top Coat @rm64

c. Sephora Rose mask @rm9 after 10% discount

 

Number 76 style experience @ Mont Kiara

I have been contemplating for a few months whether I should go for their magic treatment aka Ultrasonic treatment since it's so god damn expensive . Moreover, I always think that treatment is kind of a bullshit  since I can buy the same product and but on my hair with  one tenth the cost or less .

After reading from a few bloggers who are sponsored by Number 76 style and the fact that my hair had gotten from bad to worst since I came back for the U.K. I decided to give it a try if they is any promotion 

My wish is granted ! Since the price went down from rm250 to rm 168 , I will eat less and save money for this . I am hoping all my split ends and dry tangled hair will be rescued and hydrated !

Although I  make an appointment with Hikky, it was not her who served me for the whole session . She only came to blow dry half of my hair and curled half of it as well.

On a normal day , I would not felt as piss but that day I called in the morning to try to reschedule it because I have reached 2 hrs earlier . Since I checked online that the slot is empty , I thought my wish will come true . However I was not that lucky that day , the receptionist say she was fully booked .

So fine , I waited for an hour and decided to just go in , hopefully someone will wash my hair 1st and I might be able to save on parking.( the parking there is damn expensive )

Anyway , I got served by a guy working there , though I forgot to ask his name . He is friendly , not pushy on asking me to do any add ons. 

The only reason I feel cheated is that I could actually have finished my hair earlier since Hikky isn't really involved in the process . But then again this is a good experience .

I like how they prepare a locker for you to leave your bags so that you will not be worried that your things will go missing when you are sent from one place to the other .

I like their chair where they wash your hair where there are supports on your back.

I like the fact that they give you a small towel to cover your leg when you wear shorts when they shampoo your hair . Moreover they will put a piece of tissue on your eye so you will not stare straight to the light on the ceiling .

The whole process took about 45 minutes , which is quite reasonable . 

My hair felt smoother and less tangled after the treatment but it did not quite rescue my split end . I don't think I will do it again though unless it's a Big day which requires me to have a healthy hair .

The one thing that I really like about the treatment is its scent , I am not sure whether it came from the treatment itself or the hair mask that he applied after the treatment, but I really really likes it !

before Ultrasonic Treatment

After Ultrasonic hair treatment

All in all , I might go back for a hair cut since I received a rm20 for being a member and an additional rm20 for checking in on Facebook during their promotion period .

UPDATE : after washing my hair for one time , I think the magic has disappear . My hair had gone back to it dry self .

Levi's promotion on International Women's Day 2014

Levi's ways to support International Women's day  is by offering a Buy 1 Free 1 promotion for female only from 7/3/2014 - 9/3/2014. The Midvalley boutique is so crowded. I should I have just gone to The Gardens if I knew there is a boutique there as well.

Levi's promo

The crowd 

For people who cannot resist sale like me would definitely go there to see what I can grab! Contrary to popular beliefs, I did not buy any Levi's jeans there.  I bought a Levi's smocked dress and levis denim jacket .

I am not sure whether it's worth it but I just cannot resist not buying anything before leaving.

Levi's Black smocked dress @rm 249, Levi's denim jacket @ rm 159
Till next time. XOXO
-macchiato-

14 things to expect studying in windy Aberystwyth University ! PART 1 !

On September 2012, i went to a small town in Wales ....Aberystwyth.

We landed in Birmingham International Airport and the representative from the University came to pick us up.

View from Constitutional Hill 

I was quite shocked when I arrived as  England was not as cold as I expected it to be. The sky was bright and the sun was smiling on us. Not as depressing as i thought it would be

#Tips 1:
sit at the back of the plane if you are travelling to avoid the long queue at the Customs area. Also, there is no need to rush unless you are chasing the train as the university will wait for EVERYONE. I ended up waiting for close to an hour in the bus

after 3 hrs , we had arrived in Aberystwyth. It was a lovely view entering Wales. Especially if you get excited seeing hills, grass, horses, cows and sheeps. *for the whole journey mind you*

#Tips 2:
Aberystwyth is a small town, you will not get lost. Try not to get direction from the 'locals' as there is a high possibility that they are new too. Aberystwyth is a student town after all!!! and remember, there are mature students as well.

#Tips 3:
 When I was there, the University was actually selling bedding sets for £25 on the day of arrival. So buy it unless you want to freeze to death on your first night! (No, seriously.... ESPECIALLY if you are not tolerant to the cold)

#Tips 4:
Get a small heater from Morrissons( shhh....dont let the authority knows)  This is important if you are boarding up in university hostels and your centralised heater refuses to turn on *like mine*. Furthermore, it shuts off at 9pm. So good luck warming up after that. 

I also heard that putting a bag of frozen peas on the detector sets it off too*wink*.

#Tips 5:
 If you like Chinese soup bring a proper bowl and a soup spoon because its hard to find those. Even if you manage to find it in Aberystwyth it will be expensive.

Generally they will have this 

Instead of 

#Tips 6:
 if you use chopstick, bring it along as well.

#Tips 7:
 There is no Chinese grocery shop in town. You could get it but from Birmingham (3 hr train ride) or you will have order online from Day Day and it will only arrive on Wednesday ( shipping is free if you buy above £20, if not just pay £1). They ONLY deliver on Wednesdays.

#Tips 8:
 There are 4 places where you can get your grocery in addition to convenient stores like Sparta.

a. CK - Is a 5 min walk from Rosser halls. This is a go to place if you are too lazy to take the bus down to town

b. Lidl - I only remember that lidl has cheap chocolates and they sell very little commercialized products (town area)

c. Iceland- If you don't cook and wish to survive on student food, you can get all kinds of frozen food here and in my opinion, dubious looking meat that is very cheap*what kind of raw chicken drumsticks last for 6months??* ( town)

d. Morrison!!!! * throw confetti* my favourite! its clean unlike the ones in London.

    They also give out vouchers from time to time when you spend a certain amount of money. Hey, some discount is always better than no discount. This shop is also the furthest away if you live in town. Walk through the back of the rosser halls down the hill.

E. The co-operative Food Store ( town )

Things are more expensive as compare to the others 

#Tips 9:
 get your bedding / house hold items from Argos , Matalan , Morrisons etc 

#Tips 10:
 Get a bus pass and travel for free if you always travel to town. It is unlikely for any human being to  walk up and down the hill ( about 20 minutes walk. easy to walk down, hard to walk up especially under cold and drizzling weather). Its that or you have to pay £1 (as of 2012-2013 on Mid Wales Travel)

I am almost there 

#Tips 11:
  Traveling is cheaper with a cab if you are travelling with friends. 

Z's , OWS & Castle Cab charge £3 when you travel within town whereas other Cab services run on meter.

#Tips 12:
 There is no wet market in Aberystwyth. Even though Aberystwyth is next to the sea, there are no fresh and cheap seafood as some of you might expect.

#Tips 13:
The shops close really early as compared to the Malaysian standard. Most shops close at 5pm or 6pm on the weekdays and saturday whereas most of them are closed at Sunday.

#Tips 14 :
 Oh! Before I forget! If you have a stopover in Dubai, the airport stinks with BO! Don't worry its not you*If it is, PLEASE take a bath!*.They also charge for trolleys in the Dubai airport and Birmingham international  unlike  KLIA*you will appreciate how awesome KLIA is after you see other airports. KLIA is awesome*, so grab one on  your way  if no one is using it!

till next time.

 xoxo

-macchiato-